


Fire

by darkest_nights_will_end



Series: Hollingstwins [5]
Category: Degrassi, Degrassi the Next Generation, Degrassi: Next Class
Genre: But he hides it with a stoic face, Family, Firestarter 2, Gen, Hollingsiblings, Hollingstwins, Hunter is really worried, Mentions of the Mug incident, Miles is a background character, Sibling Fluff, Twin-centric, Twins, Yikes Miles II is an asshole
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-12
Updated: 2016-08-12
Packaged: 2018-08-08 06:15:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7746277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkest_nights_will_end/pseuds/darkest_nights_will_end
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A look into Hunter's head as Frankie is trapped inside the burning school in Firestarter (2).</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fire

Hunter had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach from the moment he’d woken up, but he passed it off as simply having had too much caffeine before going to bed the previous night. He knew it was bad for him, but it didn’t mean he was going to stop. After all, he was an online hero and he wasn’t going to let something as meaningless as sleep stop him. Besides, the feeling would probably stop once he got up and around.

 

The feeling didn’t get any better. 

 

“Frankie?” Hunter knocked on the door to his sister’s room, somewhat annoyed. He knew she was sleeping at her grandparents but their dad had given her strict orders to be home early in the morning so she could do the press conference. 

 

Hunter felt bad that she was being made to take the blame for the cheerleading scandal, but he wished she would just get it over with. The sooner it was taken care of, the sooner their dad would let it go- hopefully. For once, it wasn’t Miles in trouble, and it made him uncomfortable quite frankly. He didn’t like seeing his sister become the black sheep of the family, and it made him just a bit nervous that one little screw up and he would be next.

 

He sighed when he received no response from Frankie’s room. Of course she wasn’t home yet, which would leave Hunter to deal with the fallout. Their father would tell him that the benefit of being twins is that he should be able to keep her in line, and Hunter wouldn’t be able to do anything but apologize for his sister and assure his dad that he was doing a great job and would still win the election. 

 

It was unlikely, but maybe Miles would know where she was. 

 

* * *

 

Hunter stood at his locker in a state of shock after the incident that had occurred with his father. He couldn’t believe that his dad had not only  _ hit Miles,  _ but had  _ thrown a mug _ . Hunter wasn’t sure if he had intended to hit anybody, but he had, and Hunter had the cut on his face to prove it. 

 

Part of him wanted to be mad at his sister for not showing up on time, but a bigger part of him was glad she didn’t. Sure, maybe if she had been there Miles and their father wouldn’t have gotten into an argument, but it was also entirely possible that they would have. And this time,  _ she _ would have been caught in the crossfire. Hunter knew Frankie wouldn’t have backed down, and Hunter worried that when she saw their father next, there would be consequences.

 

Why hadn’t he stuck up for her? He let Miles do all the talking, all the defending, while he stood there, completely useless. He had been too afraid to speak up on her behalf, even though he knew she would have done all she could for him had the roles been reversed. What kind of a brother was he? Miles and Frankie weren’t nearly as close as he was to her, it  _ should _ have been Hunter standing up for her. Clearly he didn’t learn his lesson the first time around, because he didn’t defend Miles to their mother either. Miles did everything he could to make sure he and his sister were taken care of, and Hunter didn’t even have the common decency to at least confirm that Miles had been hit.

  
  


“Hunter? What’s on your face?” He was pulled back to reality by Frankie, who had appeared at her locker, right next to his. He had been so caught up in his thoughts that he hadn’t noticed her.

 

“Well look who decided to make an appearance. Why didn’t you come home this morning?” He ignored her question.

 

“You know why. I’m not telling everybody I did something that I’m not at fault for.”

 

“You know you’re going to have to face it eventually. The sooner the better, you know how stressed Dad can get,” she didn’t know the half of it.

 

“I have a plan. If all goes well, my name should be removed from the scandal by the end of the day,” she smirked. Hunter had no idea what she was talking about, but he didn’t get a chance to ask, as Frankie restated her original question. “Seriously though, how did you get that scratch on your face?”  

 

“Oh this? I got it last night. I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going and ran into the edge of a door. You know me, head always in a device,” Hunter debated telling her the whole story. Their dad getting angry that she wasn’t home, Miles yelling at him for being a bad father, the mug incident, all of it. But he couldn’t. He didn’t want her image of him to be tainted like it was for him. If she could fix the whole incident like she claimed, Dad would be proud of her. He’d go back to how he was before. And Frankie would never know the difference.

 

“You really should put those things down when you’re walking,” Frankie didn’t really look like she believed him, but she didn’t press on the matter. “I’ve got to go, but I’ll see you later, okay?” She said, closing her locker as she began to walk away.

 

The pain in the pit of Hunter’s stomach hadn’t gotten any better.

 

* * *

 

 

Hunter’s stomach lurched as he watched those stupid cheerleaders do their routine. He had no idea why it hurt so much, but he wished it would go away. His theory about too much caffeine had been proven false, leaving Hunter to wonder what it could be causing this. He had no other symptoms, and he didn’t feel  _ sick, _ just on edge. Was he still mulling over the mug incident? Was he angry about watching the cheerleaders knowing what they did to Frankie? 

 

Speaking of Frankie, where was she? Hunter had scanned the gym multiple times, but she was nowhere to be found. He knew watching the cheerleaders may have been a bit of a sore spot, but skipping the whole pep rally? That wasn’t like her. It didn’t help his uneasiness, not knowing where she was.

 

It was then that Hunter saw the smoke.  

 

Everybody else had been so focused on watching the show that they hadn’t noticed. But Hunter did, and he rushed out of the gym before the fire alarm had even began to ring out. He was just about the exit the building and get to safety when he remembered.

 

_ Frankie. _

 

He turned around, breaking into a full blown sprint as he rushed down the hall, screaming his sister’s name. 

 

Every second felt like a minute, every minute like an hour, until he saw Miles. By then, the whole school had figured out what was going on, and even though Hunter was constantly searching the crowd, he couldn’t find the familiar face he’d known his whole life. He felt a moment of relief, knowing at least one sibling was safe. But it still begged the question of where Frankie was. Miles would know, right? He ran up to Miles, feeling a sense of safety as he grabbed his jacket.

 

“You’re okay! But- Frankie!”

 

“What about her?” Miles asked in concern as he stopped dead in his tracks.

 

“She’s- she’s still in the school.”

 

“Where?”

 

“I- I don’t know!”

 

Miles had no problems turning around as he helped Hunter look, even asking Shay and Lola. Hunter wanted to yell at them for not knowing, for not being better friends, but it wouldn’t solve anything. Once they had gotten a negative answer, the boys continued their search. Maya had left them at some point, probably turning back to leave the building. Fine by Hunter. What did she care? Had she even ever spoken to Frankie?

 

“Hunter, go outside, the smoke isn’t good for you,” Miles pleaded with him. Hunter looked at him like he was crazy as they fought past the various bodies still filing out. 

 

“No way- I’m not leaving you alone, and I’m not going until we find Frankie!” Hunter protested.

 

“Are you sure she’s in here? I looked for her earlier and couldn’t find her.”

 

“Yes, she was here this morning. We have to keep looking,” Hunter was getting frantic as he practically screamed her name. Unfortunately, their search was cut short by a teacher stopping them, putting his arms out so they couldn’t pass.

 

“You two need to get out of here, _ now! _ ”

 

“You don’t understand sir, it’s our sister, she’s somewhere in the building, we have to find her,” Miles told him urgently, trying to move past, to no avail. The teacher was much bigger than Miles, easily holding him back.

 

“Do you know she’s inside for sure? It’s possible that you just didn’t see her,” Hunter intervened, speaking quickly. Every second standing here was another second without Frankie.

 

“Yes, she’s inside, I _ know _ she is!”

 

“Listen, the fire department is on their way. I understand that you’re worried, but they’ll do everything they can to find her. In the meantime, you need to evacuate the building,” The brothers knew there was nothing they could do now, so they reluctantly turned around, Miles holding on to Hunter’s hand the whole time.

 

* * *

 

 

Once they were outside, they secluded themselves, finding a spot away from as many people as possible while also standing as close to the door as they could. It was simply a waiting game now. 

 

“What if- what if they don’t find her?” Hunter asked softly. The school was so big. What if the firemen forgot to check whatever room she was in? Or what if she was already burning alive, screaming for her brothers to help her? The thought sickened Hunter. Miles put his arm around his younger sibling, trying to comfort him in some way.

 

“They will. They know she’s in there, they’re going to find her,” Miles reassured him. Hunter simply nodded, not knowing what else to say. He remembered this morning, when his biggest issue was trying to figure out why his stomach felt uneasy. He still hadn’t figured it out, and the pain was stronger than ever. Was that really just this morning? It felt so long ago.

 

The minutes dragged on and on, with both brothers getting increasingly anxious. Hunter desperately wanted to run into the school to find her. They were twins (they  _ are _ twins, he reminds himself), they had a connection. If he’d had more time, he would have found her, he knows he would have. He had half a mind to make a run for it and try to get into the school and find Frankie. He knew he could do it better than anybody inside currently, but Miles’s firm grip on his shoulder reminded him that it would be pointless.

 

* * *

 

 

After ten minutes, Hunter really started to lose it. His damn stomach felt like it was being stabbed, and he was shaking, Miles’s arms being the only thing to keep him grounded. He alternated between checking his watch and the doors, as if by some miracle staring would get her rescued any faster. 

 

She should be out by now, unless- he stopped himself. She was alive, he knew she was. He would feel something if she was, well, not, right? People always talked about twins having some sort of power. Frankie had believed in that kind of thing from day one, swearing up and down that she could feel when Hunter was in pain. Hunter on the other hand had always dismissed it, calling it stupid and fake. But right now, Hunter would believe anything to cling onto the hope that Frankie was still in there, still safe.

 

* * *

 

 

_ Finally, _ after what felt like an eternity, Frankie emerged from the building. Hunter recognized her right away, and practically hit Miles as he spoke.

 

“There she is! Frankie!” He called as the brothers raced to her, yelling her name. They pushed through the crowd that had formed, Miles leading and Hunter just a beat behind him. They finally reached her, Miles engulfing her into a hug. Hunter followed suit, wrapping his arms around both his siblings. No words could express how relieved he was. He could practically feel the tension leave his body as he stood with his brother and sister, both safe and sound. 

 

“Frankie. You’re okay.  _ You’re okay. _ I’m so sorry, ” Miles, taking over a parental role, took a moment to let her know they were glad she was alive before addressing the next step in the process, making sure she had suffered no damage.

 

“Let’s go get you checked out, come on.”

 

Hunter took a good look at her as he pulled away from the embrace, noting how the smoke had altered her appearance. Her skin was tainted with ash and her clothes and hair messed up and charred. She was holding onto an almost black cloth that she had obviously used to breathe in to. She looked disheveled, something Hunter wasn’t used to seeing when it came to Frankie. She was always very well kept, maintaining a perfect appearance. But now, standing in front of her family, she showed a vulnerability Hunter hadn’t seen in years.

 

Hunter and Miles, refusing to let go of her, rushed Frankie over to the EMTs to be checked for any damage. They wanted to stand with her as she was looked over, but they were asked to stay back, to give her space. Hunter wanted to argue that they’d been separated long enough, but realistically, he knew that the EMTs would be able to work more efficiently without him looming over them.

 

* * *

 

 

“I’ve been cleared. We can go,” Frankie smiled as she walked back to them. Hunter was relieved to hear that her voice hadn’t been affected by the smoke inhalation. The three siblings put their arms around each other and walked away from the scene. Finally, the ordeal was over, and they could just _ go home. _

 

Until Hunter saw  _ him.  _

 

Who the hell called their father? Just when things were going well, he had to show up. The mood immediately went down as the brothers slowly let Frankie go. She walked up to him cautiously, giving him a hug. Maybe things would be okay, Hunter reasoned. That was, until he opened his mouth. 

 

“Let’s go home. I assume we’ve had enough bailing on responsibilities for one day,” he said it with a smile on his face, but it was the kind he used in press conferences. The smile that was reserved for political events. Hunter clenched his fists, but refrained from saying anything just yet. He could hear the hurt in her voice, and became increasingly angry at his dad brushing her off as if  _ she _ was in the wrong. But there was one sentence is particular that tore his heart open as she spoke it in an almost defeated voice.

 

_ “Dad, I nearly died.” _

 

Hunter knew he couldn’t let him get away with this. How could he just ignore how close Frankie had been to death? Hunter rarely cried, but he swore when he was waiting for her to emerge from the burning building he nearly broke down into tears at the thought of being without his twin. 

 

“He only cares about himself,” Miles said, no emotion in his voice.

 

It was time for Hunter to step up, to do what he should have done from the beginning. It was now or never. He barely heard his father chastising Miles, instead working up the courage to stand with his brother despite the knot in his stomach.

 

“But it’s true though,” Hunter was surprised as the words left his mouth, but it felt so good to speak up, to feel like what he was saying mattered.

 

“Hunter!” Their dad was obviously surprised, as Hunter kept quiet and to himself, never wanting conflict. But when something as important as his family was on the line, Hunter knew he needed to do everything he could. He wanted  _ so badly _ to shield Frankie from what had happened, but she needed to know, needed to know what they were dealing with. And coming from him, he knew she would believe him. 

 

_ “I saw him hit Miles,” _ it felt like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulder. He was finally doing what Miles had done for years.  _ Taking a stand. _

 

Frankie looked horrified as she turned to them, as if she couldn’t believe he would do something as serious as hit his child. To be fair, until that morning, Hunter thought the same thing.

 

“He hit you?”

 

“It was a heated moment,” Once again, his dad tried to defend himself, tried to make Miles look like the bad guy, but Hunter wasn’t having it. This felt good, finally speaking up.

 

“Not that heated.”

 

Frankie was rightfully distressed, and Hunter was pleased to see her take a step back, standing with her brothers as the three flat out told their father they wouldn’t go home with him. Hunter worried as he raised his voice that maybe their father would lose his temper and lash out again, But taking one look around was all Mr. Hollingsworth needed to calm himself down. They were in public. If he laid a hand on any of them, he would lose the election for sure. And all three siblings knew now just how important the election was to him. 

 

Finally, he left, and for once, the Hollingsworth children had won. It may have been a small victory, but it was only the first step. 

 

Hunter and Miles, almost simultaneously, leaned into Frankie as they stood there in a three person hug. Miles kissed the top of her head, while Hunter rested his on hers.

 

“It’s going to be okay,” Miles assured them, and Hunter nodded. It would be, as long as they stuck together. How could he have ever thought Miles was the bad guy? He had been blindsided, just as his sister had, just as their mother had, and just as the whole town had.

 

Miles looked over his shoulder and pulled away to go speak to Maya. Part of Hunter thought it was also to give him time to talk to Frankie one on one about the day’s events. As soon as he was gone, he pulled her into a real hug, holding her close as he expressed all the emotion that their father had not.

 

“I’m so glad you’re okay, Frankie. I was really worried about you,” he told her. She buried her head into his shoulder as they embraced. Hunter had thought that he’d never get to do this again. After a moment, they pulled back, but still stayed in close proximity. Frankie’s eyes were once again drawn to the mark on Hunter’s cheek and she had to ask again, knowing, but fearing the answer.

 

“Hunter- did he do that to you?” She asked softly. He didn’t want to tell her but he couldn’t lie either.

 

“He threw a mug. Not at me, but I happened to be in the right place at the right time,” he said nonchalantly. “I’m okay, I promise.”

 

“There’s nothing okay about that,” she traced the scratch lightly with her finger, confirming how real it was. “That can’t happen again. Not to you or Miles.”

 

“It’s not going to happen to you either,” he said simply. “Don’t worry, we’ll be alright. We just need to be careful until we figure something out.”

 

The twins smiled at each other, sharing one last moment before Miles left Maya to return to them. While the fire had been devastating, and had caused a lot of anguish and concern, in the end, it brought them closer together. 

 

Hunter noticed as he walked away from the school, arms around his brother and sister, that his stomach no longer hurt.

**Author's Note:**

> Yikes, it's been a while, hasn't it? I tried to write something with minimal angst seeing as the last few were pretty intense, but I decided to put that on hold in favor of this. I do have three new installments of the series on the way, so hopefully the next chapter will be up. I'm thinking it'll either be "Nightmare," "Baaz," or "Scandal."
> 
> Fun fact: I listened to "Girl on Fire" while writing majority of this. That song just SCREAMS Frankie to me.
> 
> I hope you don't mind Miles making appearances in these. I try to keep the writing focused on the twins as much as possible, but I prefer Miles as a parental unit as opposed to their actual parents, and I feel I can write him better. I know in recent seasons their mom has been more involved, but let's just take a moment to appreciate parent!Miles. 
> 
> I tried to show a contrast between how Hunter (And Miles III) vs Miles II reacts when they speak to her. When they're alone, Hunter hugs her very tightly, immediately telling her how worried he was, while Miles II, as we see in the episode, hugs her almost hesitantly, talking about "bailing on responsibility."
> 
> I've rambled on long enough, so I'll stop now. I am still taking requests, so please feel free to let me know if there's anything you'd like to see!
> 
> Thanks for reading!  
> -Del


End file.
